A reminder, in case you forgot (how could you forget?) tonight the Whitefield Selectman are hosting a public informational meeting to discuss   and answer questions about the petition for release from dam ownership that Pleasant Pond Mill LLC filed back on April 2nd. The meeting is at 7:00 Pm at the Whitefield Fire an Rescue building on Town House Road in Whitefield. I have a funny feeling it’s going to be well attended. I had hoped to hear something today from DEP about my request for them to dismiss Kelley’s petition, but I haven’t heard a thing. I imagine they’re still pondering what to do about that problem.

The only real question I have for tonight is when is Kelley going to send out the notices that are required by the statute? According to the statute:

38 §901. 2. Public notice. Not more than 30 days before filing a petition, the dam owner shall publish notice of intent to file a petition under this article at least once in a newspaper circulated in the area in which the dam and impoundment are located. The dam owner shall notify by certified mail the persons listed in section 902, subsection 3, paragraphs B, C and D. The dam owner shall notify abutting property owners as provided in subsection 3. The dam owner shall also make a good faith effort to notify local, regional and statewide private organizations interested in fisheries, wildlife, conservation, recreation and environmental issues whose interests may be affected by the dam.

So he got a notice in the paper on April 1st (an appropriate date, eh?) but he has yet to complete the other required public notices. The State chose to interpret the above as only requiring notice in the paper no more than 30 days before filing the petition. I see it differently because if the no more than 30 days before filing doesn’t apply to the other notices, then what is the time requirement?? Are our legislators smart enough to put a time constraint on one notice but not the others? In any case, when is Kelley going to send the notices?